Over 70,000 men were declared conscientious objectors during World War II, most of them men whose religious views made them opposed to war. While some refused to serve, 25,000 US military personnel entered noncombat roles including chaplains and medics. One of those guys was Desmond T. Doss of Lynchburg, Virginia; he personally rejected the title of conscientious objector.
Born 1919, Doss grew up believing strongly in the Bible and the Ten Commandments and attended a Seventh-day Adventist church. As a Seventh-day Adventist, he observed on Saturday and harbored especially strong beliefs opposing killing and working on the sabbath. Doss was employed in the Newport News Naval Shipyard when the United States entered the war. Doss could have easily applied for a deferral in 1942, and many would have expected as much from someone who turned down weapons against another. But Doss felt a call to serve his nation and assist his fellow man. Doss did not object on conscientious grounds when he was drafted in the spring of 1942. Actually, Doss was known to characterize himself as a "conscientious cooperator," believing the war was just and wanted to do his share, but for him that meant saving lives, not taking them.